Nagomari, Georgia. Mikhail Starostin studies, teaches and lives in the community of the Free University in Nagomari, Georgia. An interview.
What does a day in the Nagomari community look like?
A schedule creates rhythm and spaces to come together, but it also takes away the individual’s ability to decide what happens at any given time. We are looking for a middle way. We start the day with Rudolf Steiner’s Soul Calendar, and then everyone in the circle shares their plans for the day ahead. We speak the languages of those who are currently in the house—usually German, Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, and English. There is always a lot to do: looking after the cows, chickens, dogs, and cats, working in the vegetable garden, on the house, and with the children from the neighborhood, online communication, self-education, and our courses for agriculture and art. Ideally, the day ends with a circle and Herbert Hahn’s saying: “Only when I think of light …”
In what ways can art and agriculture support peace in the world?
Art is a language that all people can understand—not with the head but with the heart. At the same time, art helps to understand the peculiarities of an individual, a group, and a nation. Agriculture is the most honest form of dealing with the earth, which is home to all people. By working with the land, plants, and animals, we learn to be human on this shared earth.
How do you deal with conflicts in the group?
Our work is voluntary. There is no obligation except to decide to work on your own responsibility. That’s why everyone speaks openly about what they don’t agree with. And everyone has the freedom to leave or change their role in the project. We are prepared to go through serious community crises because we ultimately want to work with serious human crises. We are not closing ourselves off in our protective shell but remaining open to all events in the world. We are consciously vulnerable—that is our way of contributing to peace in the world.
Contact leo.smirnov.09@gmail.com and karpovaglafa@gmail.com
Translation Charles Cross
Image Youth for Peace